Make motor into bench buffer? How hard?

[1982fxr]

I know nothing about motors, but I'm sick of waiting for a quality 8" unit to pop up. Currently have an 8'' Ryobi that I beat on. It's junk.

Would it be worth my time trying to source a motor from somewhere and fit it with a shaft (maybe 8-10") and then some type of adapter kit so I can put a wheel on it?

Want it for aggressive 8" wire wheeling on old vises and tools, etc. Worth my time or a huge pain in the ****?

Thanks for any help

 

[Packard V8]

The threaded shaft adapters I've seen for 1/2" and 5/8" shafts are light duty stuff and wouldn't stand "beating on".

If what you're doing is rust removal from big lumps such as vises, consider an angle grinder with a wire wheel. Then you can use one of the threaded adapters to put wire wheels on used motors for the fine work on smaller tools.

jack vines

 

[hypnolobster]

Sounds much more like a job for a 4 1/2" grinder and a wire cup wheel (cup wheels are a lot heavier duty than the flat wire wheels).

If you're set on a motor, we've been using an old AC Delco furnace motor with a 1/2" shaft adapter and a 6" (? or 8) wire wheel for a very, very long time. It's probably 40 years old and still gets used on every project.
I personally think a wire wheel on a motor with no guard is significantly safer than a wire wheel on a bench grinder with the traditional guard. I've had bolts get sucked into the guard in a bench grinder. I'd hate to do that with a finger.


Short answer: you probably need both, but an angle grinder is a lot easier for big parts. Bench buffer is best for small stuff like bolts and little plates, etc.

 

[Sureshot]

If you do go angle grinder don't go small and cheap as it will not last in any heavy use. Minumum 5" and Makita. Money well spent. I use a 7" Makita for wirewheeling.

 

[1982fxr]

ok then, I'll give the angle grinder route a try. Thanks